It’s going to be the most-used phrase as this 48-game NHL season cranks up and a lot of guys go from steering a couch and bumping around what amounted (for them) to beer league hockey to going 100 miles per hour.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price looked like he hurt himself as he stuck out his left foot to stop winger Max Pacioretty in the club’s Red and White game in front of about 17,000 fans at the Bell Centre Thursday night.

Price, who admitted to battling some soreness through this brief training camp, said he would be in front of the Canadiens net Saturday night when the Habs host the Toronto Maple Leafs on opening night.

“It’s a little bit sore, but you’ll see me on Saturday,” said Price, who back-stopped the Reds through a 20-round 4-3 shootout victory over the Whites. “It’s just a real minor thing that we’ll have worked out in the next couple of days. You’ll see me on Saturday, no problem.

“It’s nothing serious, nothing out of the ordinary. I was out there playing again today and you’ll see me on Saturday, 100%.”

Price, who skated three times a week with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League during the lockout, appeared to grimace and was slow getting up after Pacioretty threw a bunch of dekes at him and then went to his right. Price extended his left foot to make a great save.

“You can work out as much as you want in the gym; it’s just not the same as playing hockey,” said Price. “Your range of motion might be a little bit smaller and it’s just something I’m working on, working through right now.”

The Price situation might bear watching and was one small point of concern on what otherwise was a feel good night at the Bell Centre.

Rookie Alex Galchenyuk, whom the Habs selected third overall in last summer’s draft, had been impressing people with his soft hands during practices and didn’t disappoint in the shootout, scoring a nice backhand goal on goaltender Peter Budaj.

The kid caused a buzz in the Bell Centre when he got the puck. A natural centre, the Habs have been using him on the wing where the defensive responsibilities are less. Looking for scoring, it’s likely he will at least get five games with the Habs before they will have to decide whether to keep him and burn a year of his entry level contract or return him to the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League.

Fans also got to see captain Brian Gionta and top defenceman Andrei Markov on the ice after the pair missed significant portions of last season due to injury. The Canadiens top line of Pacioretty flanking David Desharnais and Erik Cole looked like it is ready to pick up where it left off last year and farmhand Michael Blunden made a case for himself for some fourth-line work with some good skating and a couple of goals.

The fans starting lining up at 6:30 a.m. for the game, braving temperatures of about minus-20 degrees Celsius.

Hanging over the proceedings was the absence of defenceman P.K. Subban, who remains without a contract less than 48 hours before the Habs open the season Saturday night here against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With about two minutes to go in the second period, the fans started to chant, “We want P.K. We want P.K.”

Despite the pleas from the crowd, it’s looking very unlikely Subban will be signed for the start of the season with both sides remaining far apart.

When asked if he heard the chants, Price replied: “A few times. They obviously like him and they want him here. Hopefully we can get him back soon.”

“We know the fans love P.K.,” said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien, back for his second tour of duty behind the Habs bench. “It was not a surprise. It was not a surprise at all.”

Carey Price scare for Habs in final tune-up scrimmage

It’s going to be the most-used phrase as this 48-game NHL season cranks up and a lot of guys go from steering a couch and bumping around what amounted (for them) to beer league hockey to going 100 miles per hour.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price looked like he hurt himself as he stuck out his left foot to stop winger Max Pacioretty in the club’s Red and White game in front of about 17,000 fans at the Bell Centre Thursday night.

Price, who admitted to battling some soreness through this brief training camp, said he would be in front of the Canadiens net Saturday night when the Habs host the Toronto Maple Leafs on opening night.

“It’s a little bit sore, but you’ll see me on Saturday,” said Price, who back-stopped the Reds through a 20-round 4-3 shootout victory over the Whites. “It’s just a real minor thing that we’ll have worked out in the next couple of days. You’ll see me on Saturday, no problem.

“I

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There wasn't much left of Daniel Briere's voice. The veteran Montreal Canadiens forward had been turned into a cheerleader, sitting on the Canadiens bench for most of the third period of their Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins, cooling his heels despite having set up the crucial first goal two minutes into the game.